Au Revoir Paris!

Well that was a close call. 

View from underneath the Arc de Triomphe

Our fitness levels definitely came in handy yesterday morning. There is nothing quite like running for a train that is about the leave the station, with 19kg backpacks on our shoulders, a 8kg front pack, and side bag bottle of wine/food/sweaters etc. The heart sure was pounding. Yet somehow we managed to make it. Hallelujah! Lady luck was on our side.

Looking good, as always!

Self shot with the Eiffel Tower

Beautiful!

Great views of the city and less work than stairs!

After the other day’s sleep in and leisurely breakfast we took the metro down to l’Arc de Triomphe and gawked amidst the crowd of tourists. Never before have I seen so many tourists in a city. It is truly overwhelming. Next we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to catch bus #69 (Thank you Anne for the recommendation!). A tour of the city for 1,90 – yes please! We stopped off near the opera house because the bus was getting stuffy and our eyes had wandered across some creperies. Just the fix for Janelle’s car sickness! A lovely crepe with nutella and banana, and a McLatte to give us another boost. Then we headed back towards Musee d’Orsay only to discover it is closed on Mondays. Devastation.

We were appeased by a walk through les Jardins Tuileries and a ride up a ferris wheel from a festival that was in town. Amazing views of the city! We ventured down to the Louvre to get maps so we can plan our route through the 12miles of galleries when we return.

L'As du Falafel with the ladies. YUM!

We picked up a few souvenirs before meeting up with Caitlin and Heidi for AMAZING falafels. The line outside of the restaurant was longer than queues for Harry Potter on opening night. We soon realized why. Delicious, fresh pitas, and attractive servers make this a place I would recommend to any traveler passing through.

Up top!

In front of Notre Dame

The girls had not yet seen Notre Dame Cathedral so we walked off our dinner on the Ile de la Cite, and then through various neighbourhoods and along the Seine. Upon picking up groceries for the train we secured another bottle of wine. It was only appropriate to drink it as romantically as we had the evening previous. The location was Sacre-Coeur, perched on a hill overlooking the entire city. The hike up the hill was thoroughly worth it. Beautiful views, fantastic company, and another perfect end to our day.

Heather's new boyfriend. Pucker up!

Sacre-Coeur at night.

Yesterday morning we woke early (hello 5:30, I've Heather missed you!) to visit Sacre-Coeur again, this time running shoes cushioned our feet. We snapped a few shots of the city and were heckled by Parisiens left over from last night’s drinks. We definitely weren’t laughing when we realized we had run down the wrong side of the hill. Idiots. Fit idiots nonetheless! Lungs and thighs burning, we got some good character building in this morning. The slight detour explains our rush to the train station (don’t worry we were able to shower!), and narrowly making the train. We breathed a big sigh of relief, and vowed to never cut it that close again.

Parkour!

Sacre-Coeur in early morning light.

Yea, we workout. Not many would run up the hills we did.

Inside the Louvre

Next stop, Amsterdam for some exploration of the city’s wonders: canal boat cruise, House of Anne Frank, bicycle tour of the city, tour of the red light district, …sex museum, condomerie, and other various markets and museums of the area. We will return home well cultured. Don’t worry Moms, we’re not going to the Prostitution Information Centre. We’re not that low on cash… yet.

We will let you know what we got up to later today!

Dag!